New segment – Camera of the Month

Each month, I will be taking some photos with a different antique camera and posting the results here, along with a mini-review of the camera. I’ve had a fairly large collection of old cameras for quite a while, and would like to give them all a try.

This month’s camera will be the Kodak Duaflex II. It’s is an early-50s 620 box camera designed to look like a TLR. There is very little in the way of adjustments. The focus and aperture are both fixed. The shutter only has two settings – I (1/30 second) and B (for bulb). It’s designed to be waist-held, and the viewfinder is large and bright.

Kodak Duaflex II

All photos were shot with Kodak TMAX 100 and were developed in Kodak XTOL for 6 minutes. I scanned the negatives with my Epson workforce 600 and fixed the contrast in photoshop. No other adjustments have been made. It’s important to note that a good bit of contrast was lost in scanning, which is why streaks, spots, and compression are apparent.

All in all, the pictures came out better than I expected. The single element lens gives them a sort of old fashioned or dream-like appearance, which is reinforced by the slight light bleed at the top.